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JAMES VARICK 
FOUNDER or THE A. M. E. ZION CHURCH 



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THE VARICK FAMILY 



BY 

REV, B, F, WHEELER, D, D, 



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With Many Family Portraits, 






[library of CONGRESS [ 

Two Cooies Kecelved : 

JUN ib l^Of I 

Copyneht Entry 
Cl XXc, No. 

COPY b. I 




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^^ DEDICATION. 

TO THE VETERAN FOLLOWERS, MINISTERIAL AND 

LAY, OF JAMES VARICK, WHO HAVE TOILED 

UNFLAGINGLY TO MAKE THE AFRICAN 

METHODIST EPISCOPAL ZION CHURCH 

THE PROUD HERITAGE OF OVER 

HALF A MILLION MEMBERS, 

AND 



TO THE YOUNG SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF THE 

CHURCH UPON WHOM THE FUTURE CARE 

AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CHURCH 

MUST SOON DEVOLVE, THIS LITTLE 

VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY 

DEDICATED BY THE 

AUTHOR. 



PREFACE 

I have put myself to great pains to gather facts 
for this httle book. I have made many trips to 
New York and Philadelphia looking up data. I 
have visited Camden, N. J., and Rossville, Staten 
Island, for the same purpose. I have gone over 
the grounds in the lower part of New York which 
were the scenes of Varick's endeavors. I have 
been at great pains to study the features and intel- 
lectual calibre of the Varick family, that our church 
might know something about the family of the man 
whose name means so much to our Zion Method- 
ism. I have undertaken the work too, not because 
I felt that I could do it so well, but because I felt 
I was in position, living near New York city, to do 
it with less trouble than persons living far away 
from that city. Then I felt that if it were not at- 
tempted soon, the last link connecting the present 
generation with primitive Zion Methodism would 
be broken. Then, too, I felt that my close study 
of this work, years before I thought of putting the 
result of my labors on the subject in book form, 
put me in position to do the work with less trouble 
than some one who had not previously made a study 
of the matter. All my research after facts was 
more of a pleasure to me than a mere sense of 
duty. It may be plainly noticed that I have not 
tried to write a history of the A. M. E. Zion Church. 
That has been well done by eminent fathers of the 
church. It has been my aim merely to give a 
brief account of each member of the Varick family. 
In performing this task of love I am indebted to 
the following persons for valuable information : 

1. Mrs. Jane Finch, of Camden, N. J., who was 



a playmate of Varick's children. She died two or 
three years ago. Notwithstanding her extreme 
old age, her mind was clear to the last. She was 
a great lover of Zion Church, and had spent prac- 
tically all her long life in the church. 

2. Doctor William Howard Day, who was bap- 
tized by James Varick immediately after the chu rch 
was erected at the corner of Church and Leonard 
streets, New York city. Young Day was but a 
young boy of six or seven summers at that time, 
but he distinctly remembered when his mother 
led him to the altar to have him baptized by this 
sainted James Varick. 

3. Mrs. Aurelia Jones, great grandchild of 
James Varick. She lives in Philadelphia (now 
1900), and has all the family history at her tongue's 
end. 

4. Miss Evelyn Varick, of New York, who is 
also a great grand-daughter of James Varick. 

5. Mr. Walter B. Warren, of Brooklyn. N. Y., 
also a grandchild of the great James Varick. 

6. Mr. Oliver Cromwell, of Ithaca, N. Y., also 
a grandson of James Varick. 

I have been helped also by Bishop Rush's "Rise 
and Progress of the African Methodist Episcopal 
Zion Church." 

If now the Church and the world will be led to 
a better appreciation of the work of James Varick 
by the information contained in this little book, I 
shall be highly pleased and sufficiently rewarded 
for my labors. 

B. F. WHEELER. 

September 13, 1906. 
Mobile, Ala. 



5 

CHAPTER I. 

THE GREAT NEGRO MOVEMENT TO ESTABLISH A 

NEW CHURCH. 

James Varick, the founder and first Bishop of 
the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, oc- 
cupies a pecuhar place in the history of the Negro 
race in America. He was destined by Providence 
to do more for the development of the Negro's re- 
ligious life in America than any Negro v^ho had 
lived before him. He v^as to lead a few devout 
men and women out of the John Street Methodist 
Episcopal Church, New York city, to establish an 
independent local church for members of his race, 
which local church soon leaped the bounds of local- 
ism to be formed into a denomination, which has 
grown to be one of the great religious bodies of 
the world. Beginning with these few members, 
not more than two or three dozen, it now numbers 
its members by the hundred thousands, and is an 
important factor in the prosecution of the work of 
the Christian religion among the inhabitants of 
the earth. 

This step was taken calmly and dispassionately 
and after all efforts to secure the rights and privi- 
leges of free men and free women in the church 
from which they were about to withdraw, had been 
exhausted. The church to which he and his faith- 
ful followers belonged was made up principally of 
white people, but there was a goodly number of 
colored people among them . Among these colored 
people were some who felt that God had called 
them to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They 



6 

took the usual course in such matters and made 
their requests known to the authorities of the 
church. But Hcense to preach was denied tliem, 
and this became their first grievance. They had 
other difficulties in the church such as being com- 
pelled to wait when the sacrament of the Lord's 
supper was served until the white members were 
first served. They found it impossible to be true 
to their manhood and remain in this church and 
submit to these indignities. They realized, how- 
ever, that in starting out to purchase or erect a 
house of worship of their own, with their own pov- 
erty staring them in the face, and the prejudice of 
their white brethren against them, their pathway 
was beset with many discouragements and obsta- 
cles. But they had the spirit of true and deter- 
mined men, and so took the step. And the mar- 
vellous success that has attended the movement — 
the ingathering into Christ's fold of hundreds of 
thousands of precious souls — is the best evidence 
of the wisdom of taking the step. But they had 
no bitter words for their brethren from whom they 
separated — for they loved them. They could not 
do otherwise, for it was through the efforts of 
these white Methodists in John Street Church 
that Varick and his followers were led to God. 
The Methodist Episcopal Church at the time that 
Varick and his followers withdrew from it was a 
victim of circumstances. African slavery had pro- 
duced its sickening effects all over the country, in 
Church and State. And the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, like all other churches at the time, had 
been influenced by it. They did not persecute 



their colored brethren, however — they simply de- 
nied them certain rightful privileges which were 
accorded to white brethren. But this the colored 
brethren did not think they could stand and at the 
same time work out for themselves that high des- 
tiny which God holds out to all men and women 
who serve Him aright. The Methodist Episcopal 
Church was more generous in its treatment of the 
black members of the church than was any other 
denomination at that time. After Varick and 
his followers withdrew, the Methodist Episcopal 
Church permitted Negro ministers to play an im- 
portant part in the evangelistic work of that 
church. This was not the case in any other de- 
nomination in America during that period. The 
Methodist Episcopal Church not only did not try 
in any way to embarrass Varick and his followers, 
but in many ways actually helped them. So that 
the Zion Church (I use the short term Zion Church 
for the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church) 
and the Methodist Episcopal Church have been on 
the most friendly terms from the organization of 
the Zion Church up to the present day. Soon after 
the withdrawal of Varick and his followers, the 
Methodist Episcopal Church began her war on 
slavery and kept it up with ever-increasing deter- 
mination until human slavery in America was a 
thing of the past, thus showing that she was not 
opposed to her brother in black, but one of his 
best friends. She literally carried out the scrip- 
tural injunction "If thy right hand offend thee cut 
it off," when she cut off a part of her very self that 
offended" on the question of slavery. This was 



u 



done in less than fifty years after Varick and his 
followers withdrew from that church. And since 
the civil war this same Methodist Episcopal Church 
has done more to educate the Negro in America 
than any other denomination with the possible ex- 
ception, according to numbers, of the Congrega- 
tional Church. 

CHAPTER II. 

PARENTAGE AND EARLY LIFE OF JAMES YARICK. 

Richard Varick, who was of Dutch descent, 
the father of James Varick, was born in Hack- 
ensack, New Jersey, but when a child moved 
with his parents to New York City. It is dif- 
ficult to tell to what nationality James Varick 
belongs. At least three different nationalities en- 
ter into his composition. Through his veins flowed 
the blood of the Negro, the American Indian and 
the Dutchman. According to the American way 
of settling race identity, I suppose he would be 
called a Negro, for he had Negro blood flowing 
through his veins. In America a person W'ith the 
least Negro blood flowing through his veins is con- 
sidered a Negro. The exact date of Varick' s birth 
is not clearly known, but putting all the facts in 
his eventful life together, it appears that 1750 is 
as near a date as can be given as the year of his 
birth. We giye the 17th as the day of his birth, 
since it is as convenient as any other date. Thus 
born June 17th, 1750, exactly seventy-two years 
later, after his life work had been practically fin- 
ished, he was elected Elder and then first Bishop 
of the denomination he had founded. He was born 



in stirring times when the best brains and the best 
blood were all aflame with a desire for liberty, 
which was expressed twenty-six years after his 
birth in the Declaration of Independence of Eng- 
lish rule. Varick caught the spirit of his age and 
in due time was ready to lead his little band of fol- 
lowers to religious liberty. Just luhere Varick 
was born is not clearly known. It is stated by the 
early fathers of the church that he was born in 
Newburg, N. Y., up the Hudson river from New 
York city. While Varick was born in Newburg it 
appears that his mother was a resident of New 
York and was in Newburg on a visit when Varick 
was born. At any rate. James Varick was reared 
in New York city. His mother was a colored 
woman of very bright complexion. Whether she 
had been a slave or was a free woman is not known. 
In the history of New York city the rich and dis- 
tinguished Varick family has figured most con- 
spicuously in its social, political and commercial 
life for the last two centuries. One of the mem- 
bers of this cultured Varick family was mayor of 
New York city. The Varick Bank of New York 
city is named in honor of, and controlled by this 
same strong and infl-uential family. Varick street, 
on which I have walked many times, which runs 
from Clarkson street to Canal, is also named after 
this distinguished family. It is possible that 
Varick's mother at one time was a slave in the 
family. 

As a young man Varick seemed to have enjoyed 
such school privileges as were given at that time 
to colored children in the state of New York. 



10 

There were some very good schools — at least two 
or three — for colored children in New York city at 
that time. Young Varick was a shoemaker by 
trade, having his house and shop in Orange street, 
now called Baxter street, running from Walker to 
Leonard street, where he lived most of his long 
life. Having lived in this house so long a time, it 
is possible that he owned the house, although we 
have no proof at hand to that effect. It would have 
been difficult for him to have had such controlling 
influence over the leading colored people in New 
York at that time without his being to some ex- 
tent their equal from a financial standpoint as well 
as their superior intellectually. We know that 
many colored people owned their property in New 
York at that time. 

"He was a man of firmness, patience, persever- 
ance, forethought, caution and uprightness. He 
was plain but orthodox in his preaching." * 

Upon these characteristics given by Bishop 
Moore, Bishop Hood remarks in his One Hundred 
Years of the African Methodist Church: "The 
man who has all these characteristics is a remark- 
ably uncommon human being, and yet they are 
just the qualities needed for the ordeal through 
which the foremost religious leader of the op- 
pressed race in America had to pass." t 

Varick was a man of robust constitution well 
calculated to endure the physical hardships and 

* See Bishop Moore's "History of the A. M. E. Zion 
Church." 

tSee Bishop Hood's "One Hundred Years of the A. 
M. E. Zion Church." 



11 

bear the mental burdens which awaited him in the 
immediate future. He was a man of purest morals 
and he placed a high premium upon the bond of 
sacred wedlock. 

Varick seems to have been converted when very 
young. He was a boy about sixteen years of age 
when Philip Embury and Captain Thomas Webb 
began their preaching in and around New York 
city in 1766. Varick was probably converted by 
the preaching of Philip Embury and Captain Webb 
and joined the John Street Methodist Episcopal 
Church. The church is still standing on the same 
spot, though it may have been remodeled many 
times since Varick was a member there. I have 
worshipped many times in the church at noon-day 
prayer meetings that are held there every day 
throughout the year. The church has two stories 
and seems to be about fifty feet wide and eighty 
feet long. This church is the cradle of American 
Methodism and the place where Varick got his 
first religious training. 

CHAPTER III. 

SCHOOL PRIVILEGES FOR COLORED CBILDREN AT 
THE TIME OF VARICK AND HIS DESCENDANTS. 

Often through this article reference is made to 
the good school facilities for colored children in 
the time of Varick as compared with the privi- 
leges they enjoyed in some other states. To verify 
this statement I give herewith an extract written 
by Mr. S. R. Scroton, of Brooklyn, N. Y., from 
The New York Age, July 1, 1905. Mr. Scroton is 
splendid authority on the subject, for he is not 



12 

only one of the leading colored men in the state of 
New York to-day, but has been prominently iden- 
tified with every movement having for its object 
the betterment of the condition of the colored 
people in the state or city of New York for the 
last fifty years. He is at present the only mem- 
ber of the race on the Board of Education of the 
city of New York. 

"So far as anv record of the schools of the citv of 
New York, i e., the boroughs composing the present city, 
is concerned, we began here with mixed schools one hun- 
dred and fiftv vears and more ago. The first schools were 
those supported by the several churches, all of them ab- 
sorbed in schooling the children of their several parishes. 
They were mixed schools, whites, free blacks and Indians 
all together. This was true of the old Dutch Reformed 
Church in Bushwick, of the Dutch Reformed Church in 
Flatbush, and like churches in their earliest history, fol- 
lowed by the old Sand Street Methodist and by those of 
other denominations for a very long period. The only 
schooling had by colored children was obtained in these 
church mixed schools. The first separate schools for 
'African Children' hereabouts were attempted by the 
Quakers, who became what was known as the Mann Mis- 
sion Society as early as 1794, immediately upon the 
passage of the forty year act for the gradual emancipa- 
tion of slaves. These good people had been largely in- 
strumental in freeing the 'African slaves' hereabouts, and 
they at once set about opening schools to be especially 
devoted to these newly free children. They imported an 
Englishman named Piesson to teach the first school at a 
salary of three hundred dollars per annum: but since the 
colored people avoided this separate school and stuck to 
the church parish schools, he was able to report an aver- 
age attendance the first year of only twenty-six scholars, 
and the project very nearly came to an end: but by the 
employment of a colored man teacher, whose name occurs 
first on the roll of the African Relief Society, they suc- 
ceeded in increasing the attendance and a number of 



13 

schools until at the time they were turned over to the care 

of the Public School Society, which had been established 
by John Jay, DeWitt Clinton and others, there were seven 
of them in a fairly flourishing" condition. Kevtrtheless, 
there was ever complaint of the difficulty of keeping the 
seats filled, because so many colored children who were in 
the outlying districts were admitted to white schools. 
Prizes were given to the children who had induced the 
greatest number of their associates to follow them into 
the colored schools. Notwithstanding the popularity of 
'Charlie' Andrews, a white man, particularly able as a 
teacher, had done so much for the education of the 'Afri- 
can' children in his school, the people were dissatisfied 
and broke into open rebellion in the shape of mass meet- 
ings, threatening to withdraw their children unless they 
were taught by colored teachers. Their determined stand 
resulted finally in a commission of prominent colored citi- 
zens being sent out, headed by Boston Crumwell, father 
of the late Rev. Alexander Crumwell, which commission 
succeeded in securing John Peterson and Ransom F. 
Wake. These satisfied the people and things became tran- 
quil again. The fact is, the people knew that by the act 
granted by the Legislature to the Public School Society 
in 1805, they had a perfect right to demand entrance into 
any convenient public school. The memorial which the 
white citizens had presented agreed with the act, dated 
April 9, as follows: 'An act to incorporate the society 
instituted in the city of New York for the establishment of 
free schools for the education of poor children who do 
not belong to or are provided for by any religious so- 
ciety.' The colored people knew that they were entitled 
under the act to equal place in the public schools, and 
they were continually threatening. On the Brooklyn side 
of the river the schools remained many years longer in 
the charge of the churches Among the earliest names 
recorded of colored male teachers, under city pay, we find 
that of James C. Morell and William J. Wilson. Morell 
came here from Philadelphia and w^as first employed by 
the white people, out in that district, which in his days 
was known as Weeksville, named after an old colored 
man familiarly known as 'Jimmy' Weeks, a powerful and 



14 

noted character. The white people first employed the very 
able Morell to teach white adults in night schools, and 
their children, tog^ether with colored children — a mixed 
school — during the day, but as time wore on his school 
became a distinctively colored school. William J, Wilson 
struggled hard to keep his school filled with colored 
children, as did John Q. Allen and Charles A. Dersey, 
successors of the first two named." 

In these schools, doubtless, Varick and his 
children received their literary training. As has 
been said, the school privileges for the colored 
children have always been superior to those in 
most other cities and states in the Union. And 
even to-day the schools are worthy of the great 
metropolis of our country. 

CHAPTER IV. 

WHERE COLORED PEOPLE LR^ED IN THE TIME 

OF VARICK. 

Mrs. Ednah Dow Chaney, of Boston, in her 
"Reminiscences of Boston and Boston people," 
takes up a great deal of space in her excellent 
book telling where the colored people lived in Bos- 
ton during the days of her childhood. This chap- 
ter of her book proves of special interest to all 
Afro-Americans. So that now Jamaica Plains has 
a new interest to Afro-Americans of the present 
day, because they know that a hundred years ago 
the Afro-American population of Boston lived in 
that section of the city. It is interesting to know 
just where the bulk of the colored population of 
New York lived during the hfe-time of James 
Varick. or from 1750 to 1825. Strange to say that 
the part of New York where most of the money in 




MRS. JANE FINCH 
A PLAYMATE OF JAMKS VABICK.S CHILDREN 



15 

America is handled to-day was in the days of 
James Varick the place where the bulk of the col- 
ored people lived. The city of New York was 
built up around the battery, and Wall street was 
on the northern outskirts of the city — and this 
section was the place where most of the colored 
people lived. Cross street, a very short street, 
was where Varick's followers had their first meet- 
ing house. Mott street, only two blocks away, 

was where the Allenites, or followers of Bishop 
Allen, twenty years afterward had their first 
meeting house in New York city. Orange street, 
now called Baxter street, was where James Varick 
lived so many years. Here he had his shoe shop 
and here is where his preachers met to consult 
with him about the new church movement in which 
they were engaged. William Miller had his cabi- 
net shop in Mulberry street, only a block or two 
away. William Brown, one of the trustees of the 
new church movement, had his home in Leonard 
street, a little further away than the rest. Peter 
Williams, also prominent in this new church move- 
ment, lived in Liberty street only three blocks 
away from Wall street. Thus it will be seen that 
all these residences of colored people were within 
ten or fifteen minutes' walk of Wall street. The 
corner of Church and Leonard streets, where 
Varick's followers built their first church, was 
within a few minutes' walk of Wall street. This, 
then, was the battle ground of Negro endeavor in 
the days of James Varick. If Varick were to re- 



16 

turn to the earth to-day he would find that his fol- 
lowers, so far as this section is concerned, 
"Have folded their tents, like the Arab, 
And as silently moved away." 

CHAPTER V. 

JAMES VARICK AND FAMILY. 

It appears that James Varick did not marry 
until he was about forty-eight years of age. This 
we judge from the ages of several of the descend- 
ants of Varick with whom we have talked and from 
whose lips we secured most of the information con- 
tained in this article. The name of the lady whom 
he married was Aurelia Jones. Aurelia Jones, 
the great grand-daughter of James Varick, with 
whom I have talked, I judge to be (in 1900) about 
thirty-five years of age. Her cousin, Evelyn Va- 
rick, I judge to be about the same age. If Aurelia 
Washington in 1900 was thirty-five years of age 

she would have been born in 1865. Now, allowing 
her mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Varick-Washington, to 
have been thirty years old when Aurelia was born, 
would make the date of her (Mrs. Washington's) 
birth to be 1835. Then let us assume that Mrs. 
Washington's father, Daniel Varick, was thirty- 
five years old when Elizabeth Varick-Washington, 
his oldest child, was born. This would put Daniel 
Varick's birth in the year 1800. As Daniel was 
James Varick's oldest child, let us assume that 
James Varick was married two years before his 
first ciiild was born. This would place James 
Varick's marriage in 1798, when he was forty- 
eight years of age. This is two years after he led 



17 

his people out of John Street Methodist Episco- 
pal Church to form anew denomination where col- 
ored people could enjoy the worship of God under 
their own vine and fig tree. 

The only photograph we have of James Varick 
is the picture of a man at least seventy years of 
age. It was probably taken in 1822 at the time he 
was elected Bishop, or as the office was then called 
in our church, District President, when he was 
seventy-two years old, or seven years before he 
died. This photograph of Varick shows a strong 
face with massive high forehead, studious mein, 
and all the bearings of a deep and thoughtful 
theologian. His face is a most pleasant study. A 
peculiarity about Varick's hair decoration is that 
while the hair of his head is nearly straight, his 
whiskers are woolly. He was of bright complex- 
ion — about the color of our American Indian. 

Varick married Aurelia Jones, who was of a 
brighter complexion than he, as the color of his 
children and grandchildren shows. There were 
four children* born to James Varick and his wife, 
namely: Daniel, Andrew, Emeline and Mary. Mrs. 
Jane Finch, of Camden, N. J., who was a playmate 



* Oliver Crumwell, grandson to James Varick, gives 
the following account of James Varick and children: "My 
knowledge comes from my aunt, Emeline, which is as fol- 
lows: James Varick married Aurelia Jones, of New York 
city. I think it was either at the close of the eighteenth 
century or the beginning of the nineteenth century — about 
1798 or 1800. From what I could glean from my aunt, her 
home life must have been congenial and happy. He was 
both a disciplinarian and kind of heart. So I judge his 
home was a happy one." 



18 

of Varick's children and who gave me much in- 
formation which I have used in the preparation of 
this article, claims that there was a fifth child by 
name of Frank. But as neither Aurelia Washing- 
ton, who has the family history at her tongue's 
end, nor Evelyn Varick, knows anything about the 
fifth child, we drop that question without further 
discussion. Varick's wife seems to have been a 
most estimable woman, and did her full share to- 
ward shaping the lives of these children so that 
they would become useful men and women. She 
was probably much younger than her husband, 
and upon her devolved, it is to be supposed, the 
care of raising the children properly. The success 
which each child afterward achieved in the world, 
from a financial standpoint at least, is good proof 
that her efforts were not in vain. Varick was so 
much taken up with his church work that he doubt- 
less was unable to give the oversight to his children 
which he otherwise might have given. They were 
no doubt given such school advantages as the city 
of New York at that time afforded its colored 
children. And New York, at this time when Va- 
rick's children were of school age, had better 
school facilities for colored children than any city 
in the Union. (And I think that state has better 
schools to-day than most of the other states.) 

Let us now give an account, as near as possible, 
of Varick's posterity. 

I. Daniel was the eldest child of James Varick. 
He Uved in the lower part of New York when a boy 
with his father, in Orange street, now called Bax- 
ter street. This section of the city — around Holy 




AURELIA WASHINGTON-JONES 
GREAT GRAND-DAUGHTER OF JAMES VARICK 



19 

Trinity Church and Wall street — is the centre of 
business life of New York to-day. But in Varick's 
day it was in the outskirts or upper limits of the 
city. Daniel Varick enjoyed, doubtless, such school 
privileges as were in reach of the colored children 
in New York at that time. When about thirty-six 
years of age he was married to a most excellent 
young woman by name of Mary Clark. She was a 
quadroon, and later in life fought in court the rich 
Riddley estate for her share in the property. She 
was connected with the rich family of the Riddleys 
by the ties of consanguinity, but her people on her 
mother's side were not only colored but poor. 
Her fight, therefore, was an unequal one and she 
lost the suit. Of this union of Daniel Varick and 
Mary Clark seven children were born. 

1. The first child was Elizabeth. As a child 
she seems to have had the best literary training 
obtainable in New York at that time. She grew 
to womanhood and married a man from Washing- 
ton, D. C, by name of Robert Washington. Robert 
Washington was a barber on a palace ship run- 
ning on the Hudson river between New York city 
and Albany. Mrs. Washington was an exception- 
ally fine looking woman. I have studied her pho- 
tograph very carefully. I tried very hard to get 
her photograph for this book, but her daughter 
said her mother was always opposed, while she 
lived, to having her picture leave the house of her 
nearest relatives, and so this daughter refused to 
let me have the picture. From her photograph 
Mrs. Washington looks very much like a well bred 
English woman. She is of heavy build, with very 



20 

intelligent face and high forehead. She has a calm 
and pleasant expression, and one does not tire 
studying the picture. There were born to this 
marriage of Robert Washington and Elizabeth 
Varick three children: 

(1). The eldest was a boy by name of Daniel, 
so named after his grandfather, Daniel Varick. 
He grew to be a man and started out bravely to 
make his mark in the world. He was a first-class 
caterer. At the time of his death he was steward 
of a club house on Broadway, made up exclusively 
of rich men. The picture which I give of him here 
was taken when he w^as quite young and very 
slender. A picture which I saw of him, in posses- 
sion of his sister, which I tried very hard to get 
for this book but could not, shows him to be a 
very polished gentleman with high forehead, side 
whiskers quite long, and immacujate in his dress. 
In the picture he is in standing posture, very erect 
and having all the bearings of good raising. He 
died of small-pox in New York city about thirty 
years of age. He was not identified with any 
church. 

(2). The second child of Robert Washington 
and Elizabeth Varick was named Amelia. She 
died in infancy. 

(3). The third child of Robert Washington and 
Ehzabeth Varick was a girl named Aurelia. She 
lived in a different age from that of her grand- 
parents and had splendid school facilities within 
her reach. She was, therefore, well educated. 
She grew to womanhood and is one of the most 
beautiful women it has ever fallen my lot to see. 




DANIEL WASHINGTON 

GREAT GRANDSON OF JAMES VARICK, AND BROTHER 
TO AURELIA WASHINGTON-JONES 



21 

The picture which I give is an early one and does 
not represent her as I saw her in 1902, This pic- 
ture represents her as slender, which is not char- 
acteristic of her now. As I saw her she was of 
medium height, slightly heavy set, always neatly 
dressed, very stylish in her general bearing, a 
pleasant smile playing over her face most of the 
time while in conversation, displaying a set of 
beautiful white teeth, an open countenance, spark- 
ling black eyes, a small nose, black wavy hair, a 
symetrical form, bright and affable in conversa- 
tion, but withal very frank. All these qualities 
combine to make her an unusually attractive 
woman. I tried to secure her picture as she 
looked when I saw her but could not. I only 
secured the one I have without her knowledge 
from her relative. She married a man by name 
of Jones, who died a few years after their mar- 
riage. One child, a boy, was the result of this 
marriage. This Aurelia Washington-Jones, great 
grandchild of James Varick, I was permitted to 
talk with personally. I found her to be exceed- 
ingly interesting in conversation. I was also per- 
mitted to talk personally with her cousin, Evelyn 
Varick, of New York city. 

CHAPTER VI. 

JAMES VARICK AND FAMILY — CONTINUED. 

2. The second child of Daniel Varick and Mary 
Clark was Aurelia. On reaching womanhood she 
married Thomas Hoffman, who was a member of 
the Philomethian Lodge and Grand Director of the 
Grand United Order of Odd Fellows in 1844, the 



22 

second year after that order was organized in 
America. They hved happily in New York only 
a few years. Death soon robbed them of their 
happiness. One child was born to them, which 
brought added joy to their home. But soon father 
and child died and the heart-broken widow and 
mother, with her double grief, was left to tread 
life's dreary pathway alone. She was blest, how- 
ever, with many relatives and friends who deeply 
sympathized with her in hei* grief. Her home be- 
ing broken up, she made her home with relatives 
and friends until she finally went to the land be- 
yond to be with her husband and babe. 

3. The third child of Daniel and Mary Varick 
was Daniel, named in honor of his father. He 
grew to be a splendidly developed man, as he ap- 
pears in his photograph which I have had the 
pleasure of seeing. He was tall, rather slender, 
stylish looking and not as bright in complexion as 
most of the other relatives whose photographs I 
have seen. He was a first-class barber by trade. 
He has the distinction of marrying the widow of 
George Collins. All will remember that George 
Collins was the amanuensis to Bishop Rush most 
of the busiest part of the Bishop's life, especially 
when he wrote his book, "The Rise and Progress 
of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church." 
Collins' widow was named Martha. Her picture 
looks like that of a white woman. She was a re- 
markable woman, being perfectly conversant with 
the whole history of the A. M. E. Zion Church 
from its beginning up to the time of her death. 
Her first husband, George Collins, who was much 



! 23 

older than she, began with the history of the 
church as far back as 1800. He took a prominent 
part in the church from first to last. For fifty 
years he was one of the most prominent men in 
the church. Martha Collins, his wife, learned the 
early history of the church from his lips, and be- 
ing a very observant and intelligent woman, knew 
the later history of the church by personal experi- 
ence. She was really one of the most talented 
women connected with the early history of the A, 
M. E. Zion Church. Her first husband, George 
Collins, was one of the most liberally educated 
men in the church, and she enjoyed the close rela- 
tion of wife to this excellent man for many years, 
and after his death she married into the Varick 
family, to Daniel Varick, as we have said above. 
To Daniel Varick and Martha Collins three children 
were born. 

(1). Daniel. The eldest child was Daniel, 
named in honor of his father and grandfather. 
He grew to be a man and for many years was 
porter on a Pullman sleeping car. He finally took 
sick and died in New York city. He was married, 
and his widow, I understand, lives on the Hudson 
river between New York city and Albany. 

(2). Evelyn. Evelyn was the second child 
born to Daniel Varick and Martha Collins. I have 
talked with her personally, and find her to be a 
very intelligent woman. She is not so pretty as 
her cousin Aurelia Washington-Jones, in Philadel- 
phia, but is quite as intelligent. In fact, all of 
Varick's descendants are very intelligent. Miss 
Evelyn is a dressmaker by trade and works daily 



24 

at it. She has all the bearing of the New York 
business woman. She is frank in conversation 
and independent in her manners. She is single 
and is prominently identified with the church. 
She is a member of St. Phillip's Protestant Episco- 
pal Church, New York city. She is light in com- 
plexion and below the averaged sized woman, and 
is a fluent conversationalist. 

(3). James was the third child of Daniel Varick 
and Martha Collins. He was named in honor of 
James Varick, the great nestor of the family, and 
founder of the A. M. E. Zion Church. He died when 
a child in short clothes. 

The next children of Daniel Varick and Mary 
Clark were twins. The first of these was a boy, 
but was never named. He died in infancy. 

(5). The other twin lived and was named John 
Edward Varick. He grew to be a man and was 
very industrious. He married a woman in New 
York by name of Emily Attigh, also called Emily 
Louisa Brassene, March 30th, 1848, Rev. Benjamin 
Evans officiating. Three children were born to 
them. 

(1). The first was named John Edward, born 
September 6th, 1849. He grew to manhood and 
became a machinist by trade, but never married. 
He was named in honor of his father. 

(2). Mary Adelle, the only daughter born to 
John Edward Varick and Emily Attigh, was born 
March 6th, 1851. She grew to be a young woman, 
had many accomplishments but was of frail con- 
stitution. 




CLARA BASTEEN-WARREN 
GRAND DAUGHTER OF JAMES VARICK 



25 

(3). The third and last child was Peter James. 
He died in infancy July, 1854. 

John Edward Varick did not live long to care 
for his family. He died of consumption Decem- 
ber, 1854, at his residence 219 Church street, New 
York city. The son, John Edward, and daughter, 
Mary Adelle, both of frail constitutions, were de- 
voted to their mother and made home comfortable 
and pleasant for her as long as they lived. 

Mary Adelle married Prof. John Q. Allen, a 
teacherintheBrooklynpublic schools. No children 
were born to this union. On October 15th, 1890, 
John Edward Varick died in New York city aged 
41 years. His sister, Mrs. Mary Adelle Allen, did 
not long survive him. She died January 3d, 1894. 
Both sister and brother were victims of the same 
disease which carried away their father. 

John Edward Varick's widow married later 
George P. W. Ray. Prom this union one child 
was born, a daughter, Emily Ray, who grew to 
womanhood and married Mr. Prank S. Downing. 

(6 and 7). The sixth and seventh children of 
'Daniel Varick and Mary Clark were also twins. 
They both died in infancy. This completes the pos- 
,terityof Daniel Varick, James Varick's first child. 

II. James Varick's second child was a boy 
named Andrew. As a boy and young man he en- 
joyed the school privileges that were obtainable in 
his day by colored children. He was a man of quiet 
habits and a business cast of mind. He ran an 
oyster saloon in the lower part of New York City. 
He was a typical New York business man, and 



26 

pushed his business with energy. He did not take 
any active part, so far as I can learn, in religious 
matters. He lived to be sixty years of age and 
died in New York City. 

CHAPIER VII. 

JAMES VARICK AND FAMILY — CONTINUED. 

We have spoken so far of James Varick's two 
sons. We come now to speak of his daughters. 

III. The third child of James Varick and 
Aurelia Jones was Emeline. Her father gave her 
the best school advantages it was possible for her 
to obtain at that time in New York. She mar- 
ried, after growing to be a young woman, John 
Basteen. She seems to have been very fortunate 
in her marriage, for John Basteen proved to be a 
very worthy husband. He was a native of Hayti 
and lived to an extreme old age, and died in New 
York in 1885, at the age of seventy-nine. Both 
John Basteen and his wife, Emeline Varick, were 
prominent characters in New York society during 
their long lives. His wife, Emeline, was a public 
spirited woman, and seems to have inherited a 
great deal of her distinguished father's spirit for 
making the world better. She was directress of 
the board of the Colored Orphan Asylum, and an 
active member of St. Phillip's Protestant Episco- 
pal Church, New York City. In all these move- 
ments of charity and reform, she was associated 
with Mrs. Charles Reason, Miss Fannie Tomp- 
kins, Miss Eliza D. Richards, and others. These 
intelligent and influential ladies, in addition to 



27 

their work of charity and reform among people 
of New York, often held fairs and in other ways 
raised money to aid the colored soldiers during the 
civil war. Mrs. Basteen, like her husband, lived 
to a ripe age to prosecute her benevolent work of 
helping others. The union of Emeline Varick and 
John Basteen was blessed with two children, both 
girls. 

1. The oldest girl was Clara. She married 
Walter B. Warren, of New York. He was a stew- 
ard on a steamer plying between New York and 
Liverpool. He held this position for many years. 
He was a man of intelligence and industry, and 
provided well for his family. This business of 
travel between New York and' Liverpool, for so 
many years, not only served as a means of provid- 
ing for his family, but a source of education as 
well. His wife, Mrs. Clara Basteen-Warren, died 
in New York in 1876 at the age of forty-one years. 
She left three children, Charlotte, Walter B., and 
Theodore M. 

(1) The oldest was Charlotte C. Like her 
two brothers she had the advantages of the public 
schools of New York. She was married twice. 
First to Albert Wilson, who did not live long. 
Charlotte then remained a widow for some time, 
after which she married Steward Siedle, of Read- 
ing, Pa. She died in the year 1898 at the age of 
forty-one years, leaving no children. 

(2) Walter B. Warren, the second child of 
Walter B. Warren and Clara Basteen, on reaching 
manhood, married Corenah B. D'Artois, of South 



28 

Norwalk, Conn. Mr. Walter B. Warren is a sue- 1 
cessful citizen of Brooklyn, N. Y. He is a man of 
steady habits, unquestioned integrity and large 
business capacity. He has been connected for 
over thirty years with a large financial firm in 
Wall street, New York, occupying in this firm a i 
position of trust and responsibility. As an evi- 
dence of his business capacity he owns a fine resi- 
dence in one of the most fashionable parts of the 
city of Brooklyn. He is the treasurer of the New 
York African Society for Mutual Relief. He is 
also a prominent member of St. Phillip's Pro- 
testant Episcopal Church, New York. This union 
of Walter B. Warren and Corenah B. D'Artois is 
blessed with one child, Howard C. 

(a) Howard C. Warren, only child of Walter 
B. Warren and Corenah B. D'Artois, is a young 
man of rare intelligence. His father has given 
him splendid school advantages, and the young 
man, following the natural inclination of his mind, 
has become an accomplished musician. Like his 
father, he is connected with one of the banking 
houses in Wall street. New York. 

(3) Theodore M. Warren on arriving at 
manhood, married Ella Barton. He is a New 
Yorker to the manor born. He is still living in 
New York. This union of Theodore M. Warren 
and Ella Barton is blessed with one child, a 
daughter by name of Edith. 

(a) Edith Warren, the only child of Theo- 
dore M. Warren and Ella Barton, is a young lady 
of intelligence, having been favored in every way 




WILLIAM GARRISON, 

WHO MARRIED MARY HASTKKN. GKAND DAUGHTER 
OF JAMES VAUICK 



29 

possible by her parents. She is married to Mr. 
, and has two children. She lives in New 



York. 

2. Mary Basteen, the second child of John 
Basteen and Emeline Varick, was probably named 
in honor of her aunt, Mary Varick, the last and 
youngest child of the great James Varick, or after 
her uncle Daniel Varick's wife, whose maiden 
name was Mary Clark. Mary Basteen married a 
man of excellent disposition, by name of William 
H. Garrison. He was a steward on a ship running 
between New York City and Aspinwall. This 
couple was very happy in their married life, but it 
did not last long, for both died young, leaving no 
children. 

Leaving now the posterity of Emeline Varick, 
James Varick's third child, we now take up the 
life of James Varick's youngest child, Mary 
Varick, and her descendants. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

JAMES VARICK AND FAMILY — CONCLUDED. 

Thus far we have considered the lives of three 
of James Varick's children, namely: Daniel, An- 
drew and Emeline. We now come to consider the 
youngest or fourth child. 

IV. Mary Varick. Mary Varick was the 
youngest child of James Varick and Aurelia 
Jones. She, like her aunt, Emeline, was highly 
cultured, being one of the intellectual women of 
New York City in her day. She was secretary of 
most of the organizations among Negroes in the 



30 

city of New York in her day. At the time of her 
death she was secretary of the North Star Asso- 
ciation, an organization which had for its purpose 
the booming of Frederick Douglass, the rising 
young orator of the Negro race at that time. She 
married Robert Cromwell. Robert Cromwell was 
a distinguished colored man, and well deserved to 
become the husband of one of the daughters of 
Bishop Varick. First of all, he was well educated. 
In the second place, he owned considerable prop- 
erty. His property holdings for the most part 
were in New Haven, Conn. He was a most exem- 
plary man in many other respects. He never 
tasted a drop of liquor, nor used tobacco in any 
form. He was upright in all of his business deal- 
ings with his fellow men. His word was his bond. 
He was authority on Masonic matters. And in 
the lodge he is said to have been a strict dis- 
ciplinarian. He was devoted to his wife, and their 
married life was congenial and happy. Seven 
children were born to them : William, James V., 
Robert B., Oliver, Esther M., Theodore and 
George. William died in infancy. James was 
born April 17th, 1837, and died October 30th, 
1873. Robert was born August 2nd, 1839, and 
died October 12th, 1892. Oliver was born Decem- 
ber 31st, 1841. He is still living and furnished me 
much valuable information concerning his family. 
Esther was born January 1st, 1844. She died 
July 13th, 1868. Iheodore was born March 4th, 
1846. He died September 16th, 1886. George, the 




W. B. WARREN 
GREAT GRANDSON OF JAMES VARICK 



31 

youngest child, was born June 20th, 1848, and 
died September 4th, 1863. Only two of this large 

family of children ever married. Robert 
married, but left no children when he died. 
Oliver married, had one child born to him, Esther 
M. by name, who grew to womanhood. She was 
born January 26th, 1872. She married a man by 
name of Taylor. September 15th, 1890, a son was 
born to them, whose name is Robert. Robert 
Cromwell was a public spirited man and instilled 
the same spirit into most of his children. Robert 
Cromwell put his children in school as soon as 
they reached school age, and kept them there until 
they had secured a fair education. But this loving 
wife, while the children were still young, died, 
May 1st, 1850. This was a terrible blow to both 
the father and these young children. But these 
children were fortunate in having some one to 
care for them in the person of their good aunt, 
Mrs. Emeline Basteen. This excellent woman 
took these six children to her home and cared for 
them, as if they were her own. Robert Cromwell, 
the father of these children, later in life, married 
a second time, and still lived in New Haven. Rob- 
ert Cromwell had several avocations by which he 

earned an honest living. He was barber, stew- 
ard, cook and baker. He was steward on steam- 
ships, especially on the old Pacific Mail Line ply- 
ing between New York City and San Francisco. 
When at length Robert Cromwell himself died 
most of the property in New Haven went to the 



32 

second wife. I want to notice more particularly 
the lives of each of these children. 

1. William, I have said, died in infancy. He 
v^as the first child of Robert Cromv^ell and Mary 
Varick. 

2. James, the second child, v^as named in 
honor of his distinguished grandfather. He never 
marrried. He vv^as a barber by trade. For sev- 
eral years he travelled in different parts of the 
world and died October 30th, 1873. 

3. The next child was Robert. He was born 
August 2nd, 1839. He was named in honor of his 
cultured father. When he grew to manhood he 
married. No children were born to him. For 
many years he was steward on a ship. He died 
October 12th, 1892. 

4. Oliver was the fourth child, born Decem- 
ber 31st, 1831. He is still living, having spent a 
great deal of his life in New Haven, Conn. He 
married early in life and has cared for his family 
well ever since. He is a man of rare intelligence 
and is quite familiar with the family history of 
his illustrious ancestors. I owe him much for the 
interest he has taken in furnishing me informa- 
tion about the family. He has one child, Esther 
M. by name. He is now living in Ithaca, N. Y. 

(1) Esther M., the only child of Oliver Crom- 
well, is a well educated young woman. She was 
converted in Ithaca, N. Y., in 1905, under the pas- 
torate of Rev. T. A. Auten. She is now one of 
the most active members in the A. ivi. E. Zion 




HOWARD WARREN 
GREAT GREAT GRANDSON OF JAMES VARICK 



33 

Church at Ithaca, N. Y. A most remarkable thing- 
about her is that she is the first descendant of 
Bishop James Varick, so far as I have been able 
to discover, who is an active member of the 
church founded by James Varick more than a 
hundred years ago. She was born January 26th, 
1872. Her married name is Esther M. Taylor. 
She has one child. 

(a) Robert, the only child of Esther M. 
Cromwell-Taylor, was born September 15th, 1890. 
He is named in honor of his distinguished grand- 
father. 

5. Esther. The fifth child of Robert Crom- 
well and Mary Varick was Esther. She was the 

only girl born to her parents. She was a very 
brilliant young woman, inheriting much of her 
illustrious parents' intellectual stamina. She went 
South to teach school after the war. She did ex- 
cellent service there as a teacher. She had in- 
herited on her mother's side from the great James 
Varick a consuming desire to help the condition of 
her race. And from her father she had inherited 
that rare intelligence which enabled her to carry 
out this desire. But the climate did not agree 
with her frail constitution. She was attacked 
with fever from which all the best physicians 
could not rid her. She held to her work as lon^ 
as it was possible for her to do so. Finally she 
became so weak that she could no longer remain 
at her post. She came to New York with shatter- 
ed health, where after a short lingering she died 



34 

July 13th, 1868, in the twenty-fifth year of her 
age. She was tenderly cared for in her last illness 
by relatives of the Varick family, who were then 
living in New York. She was buried in New 
York City. She was a woman of sweet disposition 
and consecrated her talents to the betterment of 
her race. Her niece, Esther Cromwell-Taylor, 
now living in Ithaca, New York, is named in 
honor of her. 

6. Theodore was the sixth child of Robert 
Cromwell and Mary Varick. He was born March 
4th, 1846. He was a very intelligent young man, 
as might be expected from his intelligent parent- 
age. He went South to teach school. He did not 
remain long, as the climate did not agree with 
him. He came North to New Haven, the old 
family home. He regained his health and lived 
until September 15th, 1866, when he died. He 
was never married. 

7. The seventh and last child of Robert 
Cromwell and Mary Varick was George. He was 
born June 20th, 1848, two years before his mother 
died. When quite young he went to California 
with some relatives where, December 4th, 1863, he 
died. 

1 hus we have traced the life of James Varick, 
his four children, his sixteen grandchildren, thir- 
teen great grandchildren, five great great grand- 
children and one great great great grandchild — 
forty in all. I give their names as follows : 

James Varick 1 

His children: Daniel, Andrew, Emeline 




MARY V A RICK-CROMWELL 
YOUNGEST CHILD OF JAMES VABtCK 



3& 

and Mary 4 

His grandchildren: Daniel Varick's 
children : Elizabeth, Aurelia, Daniel, 
John and twin, and twins 7 

Emeline's children: Clara Basteen- 
Warren, Mary Basteen-Garrison .... 2 

Mary's children: William Cromwell, 
James Cromwell, Robert Cromwell, 
Oliver Cromwell, Esther Cromwell 
Theodore Cromwell and George 

Cromwell 7 

In all 16 

His great grandchildren: Elizabeth 
Washington's children : Daniel 
Washington, Amelia Washington, 
Aurelia Washington 3 

Aurelia Hoffman's child : one child .... 1 

Daniel Varick's children : Daniel Var- 
ick, Evelyn Varick, James Varick. . . 3 

John Edward Varick's children: John 
Edward Varick, Adele Varick, Peter 
James Varick 3 

Clara Basteen- Warren's children : Char- 
lotte Warren, Walter Warren, Theo- 
dore Warren 3 

Oliver Cromwell's child: Esther M. 

Taylor 1 

In all 14 

His great great grandchildren: Aure- 
lia Washington- Jones' child: James 
Jones 1 

Evelyn Varick's child : Evelyn Varick . 1 



36 

Walter Warren's child : Howard 1 

Theodore Warren's child : Edith 1 

Esther M. Cromwell-Taylor's child: 

Robert 1 

In all 5 

His great great great grandchild: 

Edith Warren's child: Edith 1 

In all 41 

Thus, with Varick himself, there are forty- 
one of the family. 

CHAPTER IX. 

FAMILY CHARACTERISTICS. 

Having given briefly the lives of the various 
members of the Varick family, it may not be out 
of place to notice some of the family characteris- 
tics as I have gleaned them from correspondence 
and personal contact with several members of the 
family. 

1. Family Complexion. — The whole family, 
with but few exceptions, is very light in complex- 
ion. In fact, some members of the family actually 
pass for white. I do not state this as a thing to be 
set to their credit, but simply an historical fact. 

2. Firmness, or Decision of Character. — An- 
other family trait which I noticed about them is 
firmness, or decision of character. When once 
they take a stand, they are not easily moved from 
that position. This trait of character was prom- 
inent in James Varick himself, and all of his de- 
scendants seemed to have inherited a large share 
of it. 




ROBERT CROMWELL 
HUSBAND OF MAKY VARICK-CROMWELL 



37 

3. Intelligence. — Still another family charac- 
teristic is rare intelligence. There is not a dull 
member of the family, so far as I have been able 
to discover. They all have bright and clear 
minds, and have had splendid school advantages. 

4. Frankness. — One of the things which im- 
pressed me most forcibly in conversing with dif- 
ferent members of the family is their frankness. 
One is surprised all the time he is conversing with 
them at this trait of character, as it manifests it- 
self in all they say. 

5. Lack of Religious Fervor — A most disap- 
pointing fact in connection with most of the 
younger members of the family is that none seem 
to have the religious fervor and zeal which was 
so characteristic of the great nestor of the family. 
Bishop James Varick. With but three or four ex- 
ceptions none are active members of the church. 
But these three or four are very earnest and de- 
vout Christians. Most of these three or four are 
members of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and 
are doing splendid service in that great church. 
Only one, so far as I have been able to discover, 
is a member of the great African Methodist Epis- 
copal Zion Church. But we should not despair. 
The great Methodist Episcopal Church has often 
regretted that John Wesley had no children or 
close relatives who became prominent in the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church after John Wesley died. 
In fact, history will show that only few men who 
distinguish themselves along any given line have 



38 

had any successors, in their immediate family, 
along that line. 

6. Family Names. — At a glance at the great 
Varick family tree, one can pick out the favorite 
names that have come down through the family 
for over one hundred and fifty years. There are 
at least four Jameses, four Daniels, three Aure- 
lias, two Marys, two Theodores, two Walters, two 
Johns, two Roberts, two Esthers. These we style 
family names. 

This in brief constitutes some of the leading 
characteristics of the great James Varick family. 
In the veins of James Varick flowed the blood of a 
mixed ancestry. There was the blood of the firm 
and tenaceous Dutchman, the blood of the alert 
and unconquerable Indian, and the blood of the 
religious Negro. Such a man was well calculated 
to found a great religious denomination whose 
field of usefulness is as wide as the world. 

This great Varick family means to the African 
Methodist Episcopal Zion Church what the Wes- 
ley family means to the great Methodist Episcopal 
Church. 

Let us, as members of the great church found- 
ed b:^ Varick, lift our eyes to heaven in thankful- 
ness that there was ever a man sent from God 
whose name was James. 

CHAPIER X. 

SKETCH OF JAMES VARICK'S WORK. 

According to the date we give for Varick's 
birth, 1750, he was about forty-six years of age 




ESTHER M. CROMWELL-TAYLOR 
GREAT GRAND CHILD OF JAMES VARICK 



39 

when in 1796, his desire to establish a Negro 
Church took regular and permanent form in New 
York City. Associated with him were a great 
many Negroes, but we have the names of only a 
few, the full records of the movement are not at 
hand. But enough of the record is at hand to give 
authenticity to all we have to say about it. Our 
main guide is the early history of the church by 
Bishop Rush, who was an eye-witness to and par- 
ticipant in all the stirring events in the early his- 
tory of the church. Francis Jacobs, William 
Brown, Peter Williams, Abraham Thompson, 
June Scott, Samuel Pontier, Thomas Miller, Wil- 
liam Hamilton and others were associated with 
James Varick in this great movement. There 
were four men who immediately joined them after 
they had left John Street Methodist Episcopal 
Church, who played so important a part in the 
early history of the church, that their names 
should be directly connnected with the 
names mentioned above. These names were: 
Levin Smith, William Miller, Christopher 
Rush and George Collins. Of these noble 
men who founded the A. M. E. Zion Church, 
James Varick was not the oldest or youngest. He 
was not as old as Abraham Thompson nor as 
young as Levin Smith. While Varick had attend- 
ed the schools such as were afforded colored chil- 
dren in his day, he never wrote anything in book 
or pamphlet form. That he was a man far above 
the average man of color of his day in intelligence, 
no one has ever questioned. He succeeded to the 



41 

licensed to preach, so that he might assist in car- 
ing for them. This is mere conjecture, as we 
have no data to which we can refer to settle the 
matter. Another matter about which there is 
equally as much doubt is the exact date as to when 
Varick was ordained Deacon. It is clear that he 
was a preacher and possibly a Deacon for many 
years prior to 1820. When Bishop Allen came on 
from Philadelphia to New York, July 23, 1820, 
and held services on that date, which was Sab- 
bath, his unfriendliness toward Zion Church had 
been such that the Zion ministers in New York 
determined not to exchange pulpit courtesies with 
him on that occasion. That is to say, the Zion 
preachers determined not to invite Bishop Allen 
to their pulpits, nor to accept an invitation from 
him to enter his pulpit. But on the date given 
above, Sunday, July 23, 1820, several of the Zion 
preachers attended the meeting conducted by 
Bishop Allen and sat in the altar. Varick himself 
opened one of the meetings on that Sabbath. This 
shows, of course, that Varick was a preacher of 
long standing, and the recognized head of the A. 
M. E. Zion Church. Too much cannot be said, in 
this connection, in favor of Rev. William Stilwell, 
the Elder of the Methodist Episcopal Church, who, 
before and after his withdrawal from that church, 
was the very best friend Varick and his followers 
had at this time, and he did more to prove his 
friendship than any one else of that period. He 
offered to ordain Varick an Elder and an others 
whom he might select. But Varick hesitated and 



42 

acted exactly like Wesley in the early days of 
Methodism, when Wesley was constant in his en- 
deavors to establish the Methodist Church, but 
tenaciously held on to the Church of England. If 

Varick had accepted ordination of Elder's Orders 
at the hand of Elder Stilwell and his associates as 
soon as the offer was made he wouia have been 
in position to establish a church of Episcopal form 
and launch his new church without further em- 
barrassment. As it was, Varick and his followers 
put off this vital matter until Wednesday night, 
September 13, 1820, when at a meetmg, over 
which Rev. William M. Stilwell presided, Abra- 
ham 1 hompson and James Varick were nominated 
for Elder's Orders. On Sunday afternoon, Octo- 
ber 1st, 1820, the time appointed for the election 
of these brethren, the meeting was presided over 
by the ever faithful Rev. William M. Stilwell. 
James Varick and Abraham Thompson were of- 
fered for Elder's Orders and upon the majority 
vote of those present, in a most solemn service 
these two men were elected to Elder's Orders. 

CHAPTER XI. 

SKETCH OF VARICK'S WORK — CONTINUED. — JAMES 

VARICK ELECTED ELDER AND FIRST 

BISHOP OF THE CHURCH. 

Notwithstanding these men had been elected 
to Elder's Orders, they still wavered. And in- 
stead of having the ordination at once they waited 
until Monday night, June 17th, 1822. On this last 
date the whole society in large numbers were out 



43 

to witness the ordination services. Dr. James 
Covel preached an able and appropriate sermon, 
then he and Rev. Sylvester Hutchinson and Rev. 
William M. Stilwell solemnly ordained Abraham 
Thompson, James Varick and Levin Smith, to the 
Order of Elders. Thus, after many disappoint- 
ments and many discouragements for over a quar- 
ter of a century they had these three Elders or- 
dained. And as might be expected, everything as- 
sumed a brighter aspect from that very hour. 
These men were elected Elders and ordained in 
the order given above, making Abraham Thomp- 
son the senior Elder and Levin Smith the junior. 
Varick cared nothing for this technical point in 
which Thompson was elected Elder before him. 
He had pursued this policy of holding himself in 
the background from the beginning of the move- 
ment. But when it came to the election of Bishop, 
Varick took his proper place and was elected the 
first Bishop of his denomination. 

Varick and his followers had their first meet- 
ing place in Cross street, which w^as fitted up 
with pulpit and seats, also a gallery. This first 
house of worship had formerly been a stable, and 
later a cabinet-maker's shop. This new move- 
ment, headed as it was by James Varick, drew to 
it the best element of Negroes in New York. From 
the very beginning it was styled 'The Church of 
Rich Negroes." This congregation, which is the 
mother church of the great denomination founded 
by Varick, has always been since its foundation 
the most influential church among Negroes in the 



44 

city of New York. It is the only Negro charch 
in New York City that has really built churches 
in New York. 1 he first church built by this con- 
gregation was a frame church on the corner of 
Church and Leonard street. This soon gave 
place to a beautiful stone church on the .^a.ne 
ground. As the city of New York began to grow 
so rapidly this congregation was offered a good 
price for its property, and the congregation decid- 
ed to sell for $93,000. They next bought a church 
corner of West Tenth and Bleecker streets for 
$43,000, clearing fifty thousand dollars by the 
sale. After beautifying the new church and mak- 
ing it the most beautiful church in the city of 
New York they invested the rest of their money 
in real estate. As the business part of the city 
moved northward this congregation again found 
itself in a business settlement. They 
sold their church for $96,000 a few 
years ago and bought lots in Eighty-ninth street 
for $30,000, on which they have built the most 
beautiful and substantial church owned by colored 
people in the city of New York. The church cost 
them a good deal over a hundred thousand dollars. 
As we have said before, this church has been fi^om 
its beginning the church of wealthy Negroes. As 
an illustration of this statement Samuel J. How- 
ard, for many years a prominent official in the 
church, died, leaving an estate of two hundred 
thousand dollars. 

I have spoken of this church in New York 
City at some length, because it is the mother 



45 

church of the entire denomination. Thus Varick 
began his work in New York City. But it. was not 
all smooth sailing; there were dissensions now and 
then in his own ranks, and difficulties from with- 
out. A man by name of William Lambert, a lay- 
man in Zion Church, had been refused license to 
preach because it was thought he was not quali- 
fied for the office. 

But he went to William Miller, who at this 
time had also left Zion Church and was at the 
head of a church called Asbury, which he had 
formed from certain dissatisfied members from 
Zion Church. Miller did not care to have Lambert 
with him, so he recommended him to Bishop Allen 
of Philadelphia. Lambert went to Philadelphia 
and joined Bethel Church there, and was licensed 
to preach. He was then sent back to New York 
in July, 1820, and with the assistance of George 
White, who had been a Deacon in Zion Church, 
he began the work of establishing a church under 
the supervision of Bishop Allen. They began work 
in Mott street, two blocks from Cross street, 
where Varick had his first meeting house. I'his 
society which had its beginning in Mott street, 
eventually went to East Side, and from East Side 
to Sullivan street, and from Sullivan street to 
Twenty-fifth street, where they now worship. We 
have no criticism to offer Bishop Allen for insist- 
ing upon establishing a church in Nev\^ York when 
there were already two colored churches there — 
Zion and Asbury. Zion did nearly tne same thing 
the latter part of the year 1820, when she receiv^ed 



46 

a church into our connection in Philadelphia 
which had formerly been under the supervision 
of Bishop Allen, but had had a misunderstanding 
with him. Varick was slow to act, however, in 
this matter, and would not receive the church un- 
til he had been earnestly solicited to do so by the 
members of this church, both ministerial and lay. 
So that our Bethel Church in New York, now so 
prominent in that denomination, was made up 
largely at its organization of persons who had 
formerly been members of Zion church. And our 
Big Wesley church in Philadelphia, so influential 
in our denomination today, had its beginning un- 
der Bishop Allen. 

Varick was worried a good deal about this 
time with Abraham Thompson, who tried to split 
Zion Church because he saw Varick's star con- 
stantly ascending and his own constantly descend- 
ing. 

CHAPTER XII. 

SKETCH OF varick's V^ORK — CONCLUDED. — ELECT- 
ED BISHOP. — HIS DEATH. 

Although Varick was much younger than the 
now aged Abraham Thompson, he had always 
been recognized as the real head of the new religi- 
ous society which was now beginning to take regu- 
lar form as a distinct denomination among the re- 
ligious bodies of the world. Five days after 
Varick's ordination as Elder, the first annual, 
which was also the first General Conference, met 
in Zion Church, New York City, June 22, 1821. 



47 

Varick was then duly elected head of his church 
and took his place as first Bishop of the A. M. E. 
Zion Church. Twenty-two preachers were on the 
roll and six churches were represented. The 
churches represented, with the members each had, 
were as follows : 

Members. 

Zion Church, New York City 763 

Asbury Church, New York City (which was 

then in Zion connection) 150 

New Haven Church 24 

Long Island (all churches on the Island) . . . 155 

Weslyan Church, Philadelphia 300 

Eastern Pennsylvania 18 

Total 1,426 

Eighty-five years later, 1907, the membership 
had leaped to 569,305, and for the general church 
alone for six months was raised $100,000.00. 

Thus the church continued to grow each year, 
showing a great increase in membership. It is in- 
teresting to note the course the church took when 
it began to spread. Levin Smith was appointed a 
missionary to go as far as Boston. Rush was as- 
signed to Newark, N. J. Edward Johnson was 
sent to Wesley Church, Philadelphia. From Phil- 
adelphia the church began to move South and 
West, so that it soon reached Baltimore and Wash- 
ington, D. C, going South, and HarrisDurg, Pitts- 
burg and Alleghany in the West. Abraham 
Thompson was, of course, sent to New York. 



48 

Varick showed himself a man of superior execu- 
tive ability in the appointments made this year. 
He sent his older men to the strong stations, but 
sent his younger men to the missionary points. 
The results show how wise he was in thus dis- 
tributing his men over the territory then occu- 
pied. Varick, like every other man who has at- 
tained a prominent position among his fellows, 
especially when the road to success was questioned 
by and competed for by other strong men, who 
were associated with him in the movement, had 
his difficulties to overcome from the very begin- 
ning of the movement, and had to show the best 
of diplomacy to the closing days of his life. But 
a real leader proves his ability to lead by doing 
just these things. To have failed to harmonize 
these conflicting interests would have proven his 
unfitness to lead. In the first place he had Abra- 
ham Thompson to deal with. Abraham Thompson 
was an older man than Varick, and often showed 
both by word and deed that he felt that he ought 
to be head of the new denomination. Varick 
needed him, and so he often put Thompson in 
prominent places to satisfy his ambition. Then 
there was William Miller, who was a man of 
some prominence, but very unreliable, being in 
and out of the church all the while. He proved to 
be a thorn in Varick's side. Ihen there were 
those who criticised Varick for keeping in such 
close touch with the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
They wanted him to have an open rupture with 
that church. But Varick had too much good sense 




AMELIA GERTRUDE WHEELER 



49 

for that, for all that he was he owed to the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. Then there were 
those in his own rank who criticised Varick se- 
verely for his considerate treatment of Bishop 
Allen at the time when Bishop Allen came to New 
York to establish a church, the nucleus of whicn 
was George White, William Lambert and others 
who had been formerly identified with Zion 
Church. It was a trying ordeal, especially with a 
disaffection that then prevailed in Zion Church. 
But Varick was calm and collected and was elo- 
quent in his behavior. He not only attended one 
of Bishop Allen's meetings, but actually opened 
one of the meetings. Christopner Rush, who was 
the strongest man in Zion Church after Varick, 
and afterward became Bishop, never forgave 
"Varick for this act. He 'claimed that Bishop 
Varick was untrue to Zion in treating Bishop Al- 
len with so much consideration, who was there or- 
ganizing a church composed so largely of dissatis- 
fied members of Zion Church. But the fact that 
Varick was able to rise superior to all these ob- 
stacles and exhibit such a noble spirit under such 
trying conditions is another evidence of the great- 
ness of the man. The fact that he succeeded so 
well, shows that he was not only well qualified 
for his difficult task, but was sustained by God 
through it all. Varick's toil and sacrifice for the 
race and the glorious success which crowned his 
labors will make his name to be loved and revered 
by all lovers of the race. But Varick was now ripe 
in years and had accomplished wonderful things in 



50 

hie and well earned the reward that was now near 
at hand. The Conference which convened in New 
York City May 17, 1827, was the last Conference 
presided over by James Varick. Varick had toiled 
hard and with great patience to establish a de- 
nomination for his race where they could worship 
God according to the dictates of their own con- 
science. He lived to see this long cherished desire 
realized. This church had become a fixity among 
the religious bodies of the world. In his home on 
Orange street while his sons Daniel ana Andrew 
and his two daughters, Emenne and Mary, were 
still living and in good circumstances, and no 
doubt were with him to the last, James Varick 
breathed his last. He had presided over every 

session of the Conference, annual and gen- 
eral, of his church from its organization 
up to the time of his death, and the 
gavel which he wielded so well for many years, 
even before he was elected Bishop, he laid down 
in death. The gavel thus laid down by Varick was 
taken up by Christopher Rush. Varick had made 
for himself a name among the great men of earth. 
That name has now become a household word to 
hundreds of thousands of souls who have been 
brought to God through the instrumentality of the 
church which he founded. Again, let us thank 
God that there was ever a man sent from God 
whose name was James. 



51 
CHAPTER XIII. 

BRIEF SKETCH OF AUTHOR'S LIFE. 

Benjamin Franklin Wheeler was born Febru- 
ary 6th, 1854, in Charlotte, N. C. The early part 
of his life was clouded with experiences of hard- 
ships, incident to human slavery. At six or seven 
years of age he was hired out by his owners as 
a child's nurse. The wages paid was 'Victuals 
and clothes." He was later hired out to Rev. 
Pritchard, pastor of Tryon Street Methodist 
Church, South, Charlotte, N. C, "as house boy." 
The wages paid his owners was the same as be- 
fore. At the close of the war he was living with 
his owner, Mr. Charles Spratt, at Morrow's Turn- 
out, now called Piney Grove. He was then 
eleven years old. He went from Morrow's Turn- 
out into town and saw the "Ankies" for the first 
time. He attended the schools established in 
Charlotte by the Freedmen's Friends Association. 
When he was not at school he was working in cot- 
ton fields or working on the brick yard. He next 
ran away from home, though but a boy, and hired 
to a man to go to Ten-Mile Point (ten miles from 
Charleston, S. C), to labor in the phosphate 
works. Though all the rest were men but himself, 
he intended to get rich at this, and return home 
and lord it over the rest of the boys. But all the 
workmen were cheated out of their money and 
those who got home at all had to walk, he among 
the rest. He walked from Charleston, S. C, to 
Charlotte, N. C, two hundred and thirty miles, in 



52 

company with three others who were grown young 
men. They had to beg for bread along the way 
home. Because he was small the other three made 
him do the begging, while they waited at the road- 
side or under the trees. Many of the houses sat 
far back into the yard and he was dreadfully 
afraid of dogs, as most people through that section 
of country kept very baa dogs. He says of these 
begging trips, ''The most the people gave me was 
corn bread. Now and then a family would give 
me some wheat bread with the corn bread. In 
such cases I generally ate the wheat bread by the 
time I reached the other boys, and had only the 
corn bread to give them." He now worked in ho- 
tels in Columbia, S. C, in Charlotte, N. C, and in 
Raleigh, N. C, for two or three years, and then 
he and his friend Preston Hall made their way to 
New York City. All through his life up to this 
time he had lived in abject poverty. A widowed 
mother with five children had done the best she 
could to keep clothes on their backs and food 
enough in their stomachs to keep them living, and 
give them a little schooling. In New York he 
struck a wild set of boys who had preceded him 
from the South. But he was soon converted in 
Mother Zion Church, corner of West Tenth and 
Bleecker streets. He felt called to preach at once, 
but determined to attend school as a preparation 
for the ministry. He went to Oberlin, Ohio, and 
entered the preparatory department of Oberlin 
College, where he spent five years. In 1882 he 
entered th Sophomore Class of Lincoln University 




REV. B. F. WHEELER. D. P, (LATEST Pictuke) 



53 

and graduated in 1885. As his scant savings gave 
out at Oberlin he used to do all kinds of work to 
pay his way in school. He says of these times, **I 
used to saw wood from four o'clock in the morning 
by lantern light standing in snow knee deep, while 
the wind blew like a hurricane. When I had saw- 
ed all the wood and could get nothing else to do, I 
boarded myself a while. I bought a tin tea pot for 
ten cents and a frying pan. All my cooking was 
done in these two vessels. A little tea and a great 
deal of water and a little brown sugar constituted 
my beverage for breakfast. I would make one 
egg and a little bread with a good deal of weak 
tea constitute my meal, and thus I would live until 
I could get another job." After graduating from 
Lincoln University with the degree of A. B., he 
entered the Theological Department of the same 
school, from which he graduated in 1888 with the 
degree of Bachelor of Sacred Theology. While 
pursuing this course in Theology he was employed 
as instructor in Greek in the preparatory depart- 
ment. So, for this extra literary work he had con- 
ferred on him by his Alma Mater the honorary de- 
gree of A. M. He next went to Drew Theological 
Seminary and repeated his senior year in Theo- 
logy with special reference to Methodist Church 
polity. In addition to the regular Seminary course 
he took extra studies in Belles Lettres. On gradu- 
ating in 1899 the degree of B. D. was conferred on 
him by Drew Theological Seminary. On joining 
the New Jersey Conference he wanted the small- 
est charge in the Conference, and was sent to 



54 

Somerville Circuit, which consisted of Somerville 
and Flemington. At Somerville there were a good 
many colored people, 450, but no place of worship. 
At Flemington there was a little church (greatly 
in debt) , but no people. He had no money and the 
people seemed to have none, and after preaching 
at Flemington in the morning on Sundays he 
walked sixteen miles to Somerville to preach at 
night. Somerville was without a regular or- 
ganization. There was no house of wor- 
ship and no land on which to build 
one, and the minister who had been there last had 
left because, as he said, he could get nothing upon 
which to live. All they could promise the new 
pastor was his board and lodging. He agreed to 
the arrangement and went to work. But it was 
found that the board of the pastor was costing 
sixty cents a day, twenty cents a meal. He had 
told them at the beginning that there must be no 
debts. But the pastor's board at the rate of sixty 
cents a day was causing a debt, hence a meeting 
of the church was called to adjust the matter. 
After discussing the matter thoroughly and no 
adjustment was in sight, the minister suggested a 
way out, and that was that the minister should 
only eat two meals a day. All agreed to this, and 
all hands went to work again. Soon a revival was 
held in which many souls were converted and the 
church more than doubled its membership. A 
beautiful lot was bought on one of the best streets 
in the town, on which to erect a church. Soon a 
new church was erected, and great prosperity at- 



55 

tended the work, and after four and a half years' 
labor this church had grown to be the largest and 
best in the Conference, paying its pastor more 
salary than any other church m the Conference, 
and the entire church property, costing over five 
thousand dollars, being entirely free of debt ex- 
cept five hundred and fifty dollars. This was the 
church that was without organization four years 
and a half before, and could only give its pastor 
board and lodging, and only two meals at that, as 
a salary. But no church he has had since has ever 
given him more pleasure to serve than this. He 
next went to Jersey City, where in one year many 
of the floating debts were paid and a large con- 
gregation gathered. Then the Bishop appointed 
him Presiding Elder of the District. But so 
strong was the protest made by the people against 
his leaving that the Bishop had to come on and 
reconcile them. After two years in the Presiding 
Eldership of the Conference he was transferred 
to the Western New York Conference and placed 
in charge of the church at Ithaca, N. Y. Here phe- 
nomenal success attended his labors and the heavy 
debt on the church paid in its entirety, except four 
hundred and fifty dollars, and a deed secured for 
the property. He was then placed in the Presid- 
ing Eldership of one of the Presiding Elder's Dis- 
trict of the Conference. At the end of the first 
year the two districts were united and he was 
placed at the head of it. Signal success followed 
his labors until the end of four years, when he 
asked to be released. He also asked to take one 



56 

of the smallest places in the Conference, and asked 
that the minister having charge of this small place 
should be given his place as Presiding Elder. This 
he did especially, so as not to have any of the men 
in the larger stations removed to make a place for 
him. The Bishop did not want to give him so 
small a place, coming down as he had come, from 
the Presiding Eldership. But he insisted, and the 
Bishop finally agreed, and he was placed at Onei- 
da, N. Y., which church had eight members. This 
is a beautiful little church and a nice set of people. 
A house for a parsonage was bought and the 
church property generally improved. The parson- 
age had seven rooms and was splendidly located. 
At the end of the year this little church with eight 
members, with the hearty co-operation of pastor 
and people, had raised over twelve hundred dol- 
lars, paying the pastor six hundred dollars and 
parsonage, and leaving only four hundred dollars 
due on the splendid seven room parsonage. It is 
but fair to state that the good white friends of the 
town generously helped in the work. His next 
charge was Auburn, N. Y. Here in connection 
with the church work he secured to the denomina- 
tion the Harriett Tubman Home, beautiful prop- 
erty situated on South street, valued at at least 
ten thousand dollars. The Auburn Church was 
beautified in the interior and raised more in Con- 
ference claims during his pastorate than at any 
time of its history. From Auburn he was sent to 
Mobile, Ala., one of the largest and most beautiful 
churches owned by the race. It has a splendid 








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57 
membership, made up of some of the most intelli- 
gent, wealthy and influential people of color in 
the city. Here at this historic church, the oldest 
of any Negro church in the city, his labors have 
been abundantly blessed. Between four and five 
hundred have been added to the church, and the 
Conference claims of the church almost doubled 
to what they were before. 

I he first General Conference he attended was 
in Newbern, N. C, 1888, and has attended all the 
General Conferences since then. He received 
forty-three votes for the Bishopric in Mobile, Ala., 
in 1896. At the same General Conference he was 
elected General Secretary of Education of his 
church, and served four years, when he asked to 
be relieved. 

In 1896 the degree of Doctor of Divinity was 
conferred on him by Livingstone College after the 
delivery of the baccalaureate sermon. The 
same degree was conferred on him later by Lin- 
coln University. 

Among his literary works may be mentioned 
A Translation of Cicero's First Invective Against 
Catiline, Delivered in the Senate Nov. 8, B. C. 63 ; 
History of the Somerville Church ; Cullings From 
Zion's Poets, now ready for publication. Besides 
many articles for magazines and newspapers. 



58 

AMELIA GERIRUDE WHEELER. 

Dr. Wheeler was married June 16th, 1896, to 
Miss Ameha Gertrude Craig, of Somerville, N. J., 
Rev.^M. M. Edmonson performing the ceremony. 
They w^re^ married at the beautiful residence of 
the bride's'.';^arents, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Craig, 
95 Hamilton sti±set^. She had attended the public 
schools of the*citi7^/and had special training in in- 
strumental music* She and her older sister had 
for years conducted a hair dressing establishment 
on Main street in Somerville, where they had tne 
leading people of the.- city as their patrons. At 
the time of her marriage she was the organist of 
the A. M. E. Zion Chu-a:ch at Somerville, of which 
church she was a member. After marrying she 
entered heartily in sympathy with her husband's 
work. Having become proficient as a typewriter, 
she serves as typewriter in all of his correspon- 
dence. She is greatly liked by all the people whom 
her husband has served as pastor since their mar- 
riage. But she is quiet of manner and never 
pushes herself to the front, but always prefers to 
remain in the background, where she watches 
every interest pertaining to her husband's wel- 
fare. She was born in Somerville, N. J., in the 
same house in which she was married. 



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